Street Gang Life

Seventeen-year-old Christopher Hutchson’s murder was part of a retaliation by Bryan gang members who were upset that one of their own had suffered a broken arm during a fight, according to testimony Thursday in the trial of Jose Castillo. Hutchson wasn’t the one who’d broken the known gang member’s arm, but being spotted with the person who was responsible was enough to lead to him being attacked, one of Castillo’s co-defendants testified. Castillo is one of five charged with engaging in organized criminal activity that led to Hutchson being shot and killed in the early morning hours of Mother’s Day 2010. His four co-defendants — Jonathan Orta, Jacob Hernandez, Manuel Gusman and Joey Reyes — all have pleaded guilty to their part, making Castillo’s case the only one to go before a jury. Prosecutors Jarvis Parsons and Misty Swan have called on several eyewitnesses who’ve provided their version of what they saw happen during the incident, including 22-year-old Hernandez, a known gang member who reluctantly testified against Castillo on Thursday. Hernandez said he and his co-defendants were at Iguana Lounge in north Bryan on May 10, 2010, when one of them, Reyes, stepped outside to use the phone. Around that time, Hutchson and his friend, Robert Gongora, were passing the club and, in the process, Gongora and Reyes got into a fight that ended with Reyes having a broken arm and going to the hospital, according to testimony. A group at Iguana Lounge went after Hutchson and Gongora in retaliation, Hernandez said, adding he got into Castillo’s white SUV and drove down Martin Luther King Jr. Street until they spotted the pair in front of a church. Hernandez said he, Castillo and two others attacked Hutchson and Gongora, but they were able to escape. He never saw Hutchson again and didn’t learn about his death until the next morning, Hernandez told jurors. On cross-examination, Castillo’s lawyer, Steve Gustitis, drilled Hernandez about his gang’s organization, symbols and philosophies before asking him about the deal he’d made in agreeing to testify against Castillo — a decision Hernandez conceded could get him killed. In exchange for his testimony, prosecutors dropped the deadly weapon finding from his charge and gave him a six-year term, just one year over the minimum. Defendants convicted of using a deadly weapon in an offense are required to serve prison sentences before being eligible for parole. Gustitis pointed out that because Hernandez has been in jail since July 2011, it’s conceivable that he could be eligible for parole once he’s sentenced and given credit for time served. In addition to Hernandez, Bryan police Detective Steven Fry testified about how investigators were able to extract information they needed to find those responsible for Hutchson’s death. Several defense objections were made about Fry’s testimony identifying certain people as gang members or using the term gang without talking about the criteria used to form that conclusion. To convict Castillo of engaging in organized criminal activity, prosecutors must prove he was acting as part of a gang — an allegation Gustitis has been putting to the test. While being questioned by the state, Fry said, Castillo was named as a gang member by the group’s top leader. When authorities tried to find Castillo to talk to him during the investigation, Fry said, they were unable to locate him. He was arrested in May 2011 on the one-year anniversary of Hutchson’s death when he was pulled over during a traffic stop, and has remained in custody since then. Prosecutors expect to rest their case Tuesday and indicated more eyewitnesses will be called to testify in the meantime. If convicted, Castillo faces five to 99 years in prison.